Alienist

Alienists deal with powers and entities from terrifyingly remote reaches of space and time. For them, magical power is the triumph of the mind over the rude boundaries of dimension, distance, and often, sanity. With knowledge and determination, they pierce the barrier at the edge of time itself. In the Far Realm, outside time, Herculean minds drift, absorbed in contemplations of madness. Unspeakable beings whisper terrifying secrets to those who dare communication. These secrets were not meant for mortals, but the alienist plunges into abysses of chaos and entropy that would blast a weaker mind. An alienist's mad certainty is sometimes strong enough to sway others to believe in her own future transcendence.

Alienists might, on rare occasions, gather in secluded groups to enact some obscure ritual, but more often they are encountered singly. NPC alienists sometimes haunt libraries or specialty bookshops in large cities, skulking and mumbling among stacks of rare (and dangerous) volumes.

Requirements

Spells: Ability to cast at least one Divination spell and at least one summoning spell of 3rd level or higher.Special: Prior contact with an alienist or a pseudonatural creature.

Hit die

d4

Skill points

2 + Int

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Alienists gain no additional proficiency in any weapon or armor.

Spells per Day: When a new alienist level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, hit points beyond those he receives from the prestige class, and so on), except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a alienist, she must decide to which class she adds each level of alienist for purposes of determining spells per day.

Summon Alien (Sp): When an alienist casts any summon monster spell, she summons a "pseudonatural" version of a creature chosen from the appropriate list on page 258 of the Player's Handbook. For example, by casting summon monster VI, she could summon a pseudonatural rast. This adds the pseudonatural template to the summoned creature (see Pseudonatural Creatures below). If the selected creature would normally be celestial or fiendish, the pseudonatural template replaces that template.

Alien Blessing: An alienist applies a +1 insight bonus on all saving throws, but she permanently loses 2 points of Wisdom.

Metamagic Secret: The alienist listens to the secret voices whispering from beyond time's end, and profit thereby. At 3rd and 7th level, she may choose any metamagic feat as a bonus feat.

Mad Certainty: At 4th level, the alienist's mad certainty in the power of entities beyond the reach of normal space and time lend her an unnatural fortitude. She gains an additional 3 hit points as though from the Toughness feat. However, constantly dwelling on such beings is mentally corrosive, and the alienist's mind begins to fracture. She develops a phobia against a specified kind of creature, suffering a —2 penalty to saving throws, attack rolls, and Charisma-based skill and ability checks in regard to these creatures. The selected creature gains a +2 morale modifier to AC and saving throws against the phobic alienist. The DM determine the creature feared. Good choices include spiders, snakes, birds, or insects. Beings that share attribute with or those that resemble the selected creature also trigger the phobia.

Pseudonatural Familiar: On reaching 5th level the alienist's familiar, if any, gains the pseudonatural template (see Pseudonatural Creatures below) in addition to the powers and abilities normal for a familiar of the appropriate level. This does not replace the familiar—the original slowly takes on pseudonatural aspects, which become fully active at this point. From this point on, newly summoned familiars already possess the pseudonatural template.

Extra Summoning: From 6th level on, the alienist gains one extra spell slot at her highest spell level. This slot can be used only for a summon monster spell. As the alienist becomes able to learn higher-level spells, the extra slot migrates up to the new highest level.

Insane Certainty: At 8th level, the alienist's mad certainty crystallizes into a truly chilling mania. She gain an additional 3 hit points as though from the Toughness feat, but her phobia likewise intensifies. All penalties and bonuses listed under Mad Certainty for the selected creature increase to —6/+6.

Timeless Body: At 9th level, the alienist learns the secret of perpetual youth. She no longer suffers ability penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged (see Table 6-5: Aging Effects on page 93 of the Player's Handbook). Any penalties she may have already suffered, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, but the alienist is stolen away by horrible entities when her time is up, and she is never seen again.

Transcendence (Su): At 10th level, the alienist, through long association with alien entities and intensive study of insane secrets, transcends her mortal form and becomes an alien creature. Her type changes to "outsider", which means (among other things) that she is no longer affected by spells that specifically target humanoids, such as charm person, but she can be hedged out by a magic circle spell against her alignment. Additionally, the alienist gains damage reduction 20/+1 and electricity resistance 20.

Upon achieving transcendence, the alienist's appearance undergoes a minor physical change, usually growing a small tentacle or other strange addition or substitution, such as an extra appendage, organ, eye, or enigmatic lump. The alienist can hide this abnormality in a robe or hood, but the alien growth is not under the alienist's control and sometimes moves, twitches, opens, or otherwise animates of its own accord.

Anyone who shares the alienist's predilection for study of the Far Realms immediately recognizes her transcendent nature, and she gains a +2 circumstance modifier on all Charisma-based skill and ability checks when interacting with such beings. She gains a +2 circumstance modifier on Intimidation checks against all other creatures to whom she reveals her abnormal nature.